TKH
Over the course of seven weeks, beginning in late October, to early December of last year (2023) I backpacked the Sinai Trail on the Sinai peninsula in Egypt. The hike was organized by sinaitrail.org, a Bedouin-run non-profit that aims to give the Bedouins an income stream from tourism that they themselves control. Apart from my predilection for hiking in the desert, this concept made me decide to go on this trip.
Over the course of 48 days we hiked some 550 km (320 miles), between 10 and 22 km (6-15 miles) per day. Owing to the harshness of the terrain, this was a supported hike. This means that supplies, most importantly almost all of the water the group drank and the food, was carried by either a Jeep or camels. Also, each of us had a “camel bag” with gear that would be ferried from camp site to camp site by these means. For my standards this was unusually luxurious as I am used to carry all of my gear and supplies on my back during my long distance hikes. However, doing this particular trek unsupported is not possible as neither the Bedouin nor the Egyptian government will allow unaccompanied tourists, foreign or domestic, in the Sinai. Moreover, the resupply of food and water are orders of magnitude more difficult in the Sinai than, say, in the Utah or Arizona backcountry.
We started the hike on the West shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, midway between Taba on the border of Israel and Egypt and the Bedouin town of Nueiba. Over the next 12 days we hiked to the oasis of Ein Kid, a location so small that it is not shown on any topographic map (it is at the bottom of the red line in the schematic map). From there, over the following 12 days we hiked to the small town of St. Katherine where we had a rest day, well deserved and necessary. From there in another section lasting 12 days we hiked roughly Northwest inland of the Gulf of Suez to Serabit el Khadem, an ancient turquoise mine from Pharaonic times. The last section brought us back from there to Nueiba on the Coast of the Gulf of Aqaba.
A schematic map of our route through the peninsula